The best weekend in Paris, France

Bonjour, I’m pleased you are joining me on day six of Wren’s Worldwide Wanderings Blogging from A-Z challenge.

F is for France.

Reasons, why you should ignore the Eurostar, ‘Don’t travel to Paris unless absolutely necessary’ memo!

Paris is a mess. Yet if you can get there, there is much to see and do at the moment. It’s Spring and everyone is very pleased to see you – even the Brits!

Eurostar advised us to cancel our train trip from London to Paris because of Industrial action at Gare du Nord, offering full refunds. In the end, it was a British Brexit protestor, not the French customs who nearly derailed our plans.

When we arrived at St Pancras all trains had been cancelled causing further chaos. We had been told all week not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Luckily for us, our train was the first train that day to leave for Paris. We were 75 minutes behind schedule, and Eurostar refunded 25% of the fare as compensation for the delay.

The yellow vest protestors have made the Champs Elysees look like a war zone rather than one of the most exclusive shopping streets in the world. Windows are damaged, buildings are boarded up and cafes are closed for renovation. It was sad to see. We never felt unsafe as there was a constant convoy of noisy Police cars, sirens blaring.

Thankfully when we appeared into the night at the L’arc de Triomphe things were all quiet. The average French person was very pleased to see we had made the effort to visit.

Paris is a city for walking and walking. We arrived to find the French had put quite on quite a party to celebrate the 130 th Anniversary of the building of the Eiffel Tower, and to think they nearly didn’t build it. It was the first time I’d seen the ‘La Tour Eiffel’ shielded from potential attack by the glass screens all around.

A favourite walk is always to walk from the Eiffel Tower along the River Seine to the Louvre. Here we were a bit flummoxed and stood in wonderment at the mess outside the pyramid. We could tell it was interesting but we weren’t quite sure what!

It was another celebration and the Parisian Artist JR had created a massive (we’re talking 17,000 meters) 3D optical illusion on the floor. Called The Secret Of the Great Pyramid JR has covered the whole floor in a paper, which IF seen from above, shows the pyramid emerging from a giant crater. Some of which had been removed, which added to our confusion.

This artwork is in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Louvre Pyramid. The photo below from The Times newspaper shows what we should have seen. There is a bit of an uproar as people were taking bits of the artwork, hence when we got there it was a scruffy mess. The Artist JR seems relaxed though!

At night the city twinkled, the Gendarmerie were out in massive numbers, sirens blaring and blue lights flashing. Along the sidewalks, lovers continued arm in arm, oblivious to the ‘don’t go to Paris memo’

The new scooter scheme BIRD, the latest mobility craze to hit many major cities this summer, were everywhere. It’s a great idea especially for Paris, with such large distances between sites and although I do question their safety both for riders and other pedestrians. I wish people would ride them more responsibly. We saw a number of near misses.

The next day the highlight of my trip was the Immersion Van Gogh experience called Starry Night at L’Ateliers des Lumiers as recommended by fellow blogger Jeanie at The Marmalade Gypsy. Thank you, Jeanie! It was nearly a near miss as on arrival all tickets were sold out for several days. However, there were still a few tickets open for the 1 pm and 1.30 pm shows if bought online.

What an incredible experience as the Digital Art show brings to life, projecting them onto the walls of the old foundry building to the accompaniment of a musical backdrop.

Before we know it we are in the sunflowers painting, the floors walls and ceiling a moving picture of some of Van Gogh’s captivating works.

Here is my favourite photo of a lady (below) sitting on a bench watching the show, having no idea how perfectly she fits within the painting… Or that she is just about to be cooked up for supper!

It’s not all iris flowers and light, some of his darker works are portrayed alongside Nina Simone’s song “don’t let me be misunderstood” the words of the song portray his plea for understanding in his time of darkness.

As the show comes to an end there is silence, then a huge round of applause. It is well deserved. I have never seen anything like it. Three cheers for Van Gogh!

I hope you have enjoyed this little wander around one of the worlds special cities? I would have happily stayed longer in Paris, it is such an incredible place. I am glad we were not put off by all the negative press about the troubles and strife in Paris. We had a delightful time.

What do you like best about Paris, have I covered some of your favourites?

Linking with thanks to Phoebe’s All About France and Angie’s Mosaic Monday